Sam Ragan

Samuel Talmadge "Sam" Ragan (December 31, 1915 – May 11, 1996) was a journalist, author, poet and champion of the arts from North Carolina.

Sam Ragan was born in Berea, North Carolina and was the son of William Samuel Ragan and Emma Clare (Long) Ragan. In 1936 he graduated from Atlantic Christian, now Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina and married Marjorie Usher in 1939. He served briefly as a reporter for the San Antonio Evening News, now the San Antonio Express-News, and then returned to North Carolina where, beginning in 1941, he held various editorial positions with The Raleigh News & Observer.

While with the News & Observer he began writing Southern Accent, a weekly newspaper column of literary criticism, commentary and poetry. It became the longest running column in the United States and appeared in forty-three states and twenty-four foreign countries. In 1969 he purchased The Pilot, a small weekly newspaper in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Ragan served as its editor and publisher, remaining active on The Pilot's staff until his death.

In addition to his work as a newspaperman Sam Ragan published six collections of verse including Journey into Morning and To The Water's Edge as well as several works of non-fiction. However, he may be best known as a public intellectual and a widely admired advocate of the arts. He was the first secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources and the first chair of the North Carolina Arts Council. He taught creative writing and journalism at Sandhills Community College, St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now St. Andrews University) and North Carolina State University. He served as president of the Associated Press Managing Editors and the North Carolina Press Association. In addition to serving on the boards of several associations devoted to history, music and the humanities he helped found and guide the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities.

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